While you cherish your car it can fall foul of knocks, scrapes, the scourge of rust, or simply the ravages of time; sometimes, the only thing that will restore it is a full body respray.

The nature of repaint can range from a simple strip of the external elements, followed by a rub down and paint, to soda-blasting the shell, to a full acid dip, each of which have their benefits and associated costs. 

Acid dipping is immersive, it gets into every nook and cranny, it removes paint, filler and rust from everywhere you can see and everywhere you can't, it is ideal for taking a shell back to its base, in order to bring it back up to a beautiful standard. However, it requires a significant amount of work, reveals more demons and also removes all lead, which some cars of the era used as filler during original construction.

This might be exactly what you're looking for, strip it back, make it clean, repair any issues found and then paint it from the ground up, but from a labour point of view, this option is typically two to three times more expensive than soda-blasting.

A car being prepared for acid dipping needs every element removed including the loom, chassis components and every nut and bolt; the chassis members need drain holes made, the door skins need to be opened up and the process usually finds hidden rust that means the shell requires restorative welding before it can be repainted and many parts need to be replaced.

The benefits are clear, the results are stunning, the shell can be protectively coated inside and out and you have complete confidence that it will last another 50 years, indeed this is how we start all of our major builds, but it is expensive and time consuming.

During this process we include the shot-blasting and powdercoating of all the chassis and suspension components before refitting it post-dip, with new bushes, seals and bearings.

As an estimate of costs (which will vary between cars), assuming a small amount of rust that requires post-dip repair work, you can expect the following:

• Labour to strip and rebuild the car c.500 hours @£65ph+VAT (£39K)
• 3 stage Acid Dipping, including protective E-Coat - c.£7K
• Complete respray - c.£10K
• Powdercoating, bushes, bearings and other parts needed to rebuild - c.£2K

While costs will vary depending on the amount of work needed to repair any issues found, assuming the car is rebuilt with the parts taken off and not further restored, the average figure for an Acid Dip respray will be c.£58K

Soda-Blasting is the process of using baking soda as a blasting medium to strip  way the paint and rust, in order to provide a solid base upon which to repaint the car.

Soda-Blasting is gentle on the bodywork, it removes paint and filler as well as rust, but only that which can be seen, it cannot get inside box sections or doors etc., however, it provides the option to not remove the engine, running gear or suspension if you choose not to, allowing for a more modular approach than that of an acid dip.

We offer 3 main options for Soda-Blasting: complete blast, with the engine, gearbox, suspension and interior removed, as well as the suspension and chassis members, a partial blast, where the interior remains, but all mechanicals are removed, including the chassis elements, or a simple blast, where the engine is left in place and purely the body is blasted.

These options are useful for different scenarios and their application depends on the condition of your car, the end result you're looking to obtain (longevity of the car, a more comprehensive eradication of rust, or simply to improve the aesthetics without the high costs) and your budget.

As an estimate of costs (which will vary between cars), assuming a small amount of rust that requires post-blast repair work and that the car is rebuilt using the parts that were stripped, with nothing being replaced or upgraded, you can expect the following:

• Complete Blast - c.£40K
  • Labour to strip and rebuild the car c.350 hours @£65ph+VAT (£27K)
  • Soda-Blasting - c.£1.5K
  • Complete respray - c.£10K
  • Powdercoating, bushes, bearings and other parts needed to rebuild - c.£2K

• Partial Blast - c.£33K
  • Labour to strip and rebuild the car c.250 hours @£65ph+VAT (£19.5K)
  • Soda-Blasting - c.£1.5K
  • Complete respray - c.£10K
  • Powdercoating, bushes, bearings and other parts needed to rebuild - c.£2K

• Simple Blast - c.£23K
  • Labour to strip and rebuild the car c.150 hours @£65ph+VAT (£12K)
  • Soda-Blasting - c.£1.5K
  • Complete respray - c.£10K

When the body is in good condition, or where rust is minor then a more simple strip and paint is the most effective option.

For this we remove the bumpers, windows, window frames, wing mirrors and all other external accessories, rub down the bodywork, repair minor blemishes, dents or small rust areas, paint and rebuild.

This approach drastically reduces the costs and, where the car is solid to begin with, provides a stunning result. 

As an estimate of costs (which will vary between cars), assuming a small amount of rust that requires post-blast repair work and that the car is rebuilt using the parts that were stripped, with nothing being replaced or upgraded, you can expect the following: 

• Strip and Paint - c.£12K
  • Labour to strip and rebuild the car c.60 hours @£65ph+VAT (£2K)
  • Complete respray - c.£10K 

We don't like to allow costs to go unchecked, time is always predicted and planned and thus we stick to the budget and avoid surprises, however, whenever you strip a car down there are invariably gremlins hiding, parts that have perished, bolts or brackets that have corroded and these need to be replaced when the car is rebuilt.

When we assess it, we try to include as many of these elements as we can, they are built into the plan we make for your car and thus most expenses are expected, however we advise a 10% contingency to cover those parts or panels hidden when the car is together than show their nature when the things in front are taken away.

This contingency allows us to fix as we find without having daily or hourly calls with you to ensure every replacement is agreed, which is impractical; while any larger items would always be highlighted, this process ensures the build proceeds as quickly and efficiently as possible.

As a rule, a bare metal respray strips the car, repaints it and puts back everything that was taken off, with only minor parts being replaced, however, we can of course take on more elements of restoration, upgrades and updates as instructed

If this is of interest, please contact us to discuss, we have a plethora of changes that can improve the look and feel of your classic, without ruining what gives it class.